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The Janata Party, which is yet to recover from the crisis over the Raj Narain affair, seems to heading for another crisis — this time over Mrs Gandhi’s trial for her crimes during the Emergency. The prime minister has made known that he is opposed to sidetracking existing legal procedures and any hasty action against the former PM. Home Minister Charan Singh, however, said in statement on June 28 that those who oppose his point of view over the former PM’s prosecution perhaps “do not know about the feelings of the people of our country who feel that the government should have put Mrs Gandhi behind bars by now”.

Cabinet Meet

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With the crisis in the Janata party taking a turn for the worse, the prime minister summoned an emergency meeting of the Cabinet at 10.30 am on June 29. Morarji Desai’s decision to convene the meeting came within hours of Home Minister Charan Singh’s statement. According to sources, Desai is going to take the stand that the home minister acted improperly, violating the principle of collective leadership. Before making his next move, the PM apparently wants to find out the views of the Cabinet on Charan Singh’s action.

Avoid Split

Haryana Chief Minister Devil Lal said that states could not escape the repercussions of the current Janata crisis at the Centre if it was not prevented from leading to a party cleavage. “The Janata chief ministers are making desperate efforts to save the party from a split because ultimately they, and not the Centre, will suffer its adverse effects,” the CM told reporters.

Locusts Sighted

A swarm of locusts was sighted in Hissar district of Haryana, contiguous to the Sirsa block. The locust swarms that were observed in the villages of Sirsa have split into groups in the adjoining villages of Darbakalan and Meriwala.